OLD AND IN THE WAY: President Biden is campaigning to crack the hardened opinion of voters who believe he’s too old to serve another term as president.

  Most of the time Biden speaks from a script, but yesterday he was spontaneous at one of Philadelphia’s largest all-Black churches. “The joy cometh in the morning,” Biden told several hundred people at Mount Airy Church of God in Christ “You’ve never given up. In my life, and as your president, I’ve tried to walk my faith.”

  He’s taking his candidacy as a personal challenge rather than a challenge for the Democratic party. It could be a politically fatal mistake.

  Before he was elected four years ago 36 percent of voters thought Biden was too old and since the disastrous June 27^th debate the NY Times poll says the number is now 74 percent. A poll by Data for Progress says that by a margin of 53 percent to 42 percent Biden’s age and physical and mental health concerns voters more than Trump’s criminal charges and threats to democracy.

  Connecticut’s Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy admitted on CNN that, “Voters do have questions.”  Murphy said he didn’t think Biden’s Friday night interview with ABC News allayed voter fears about the President’s acuity. “This week is going to be absolutely critical,” Murphy said, “I think the president needs to do more.”

  As many as six powerful House Democrats told colleagues privately yesterday that Biden should get out. Among them are Representatives Jerrold Nadler of New York, the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee; Adam Smith of Washington, the ranking member of the Armed Services Committee; Mark Takano of California, the ranking member of the Veterans Affairs panel; and Joseph D. Morelle of New York, the top Democrat on the Administration Committee.

  While Democrats tear themselves apart, little focus appears to be on Donald Trump, whose rambling speeches loaded with lies and libels should cause equal question about his fitness for the presidency.

L’AILE GAUCHE: France’s political right wing failed to take a majority of seats in Parliament after yesterday’s elections as the lefties surged in the second Sunday of voting. Thousands of people took to the streets to celebrate.

  No party or bloc won a majority, meaning there’s going to be some politicking to come in the French Parliament. The left-wing New Popular Front has 174 seats, compared to 145 for President Macron’s centrist bloc, and 141 for the far-right National Rally. 

  Last week it looked like the far-right National Rally might win a majority and its anti-immigration leader Marine Le Pen would be prime minister. She has said that immigration has diluted what it means to be French and yesterday said, “Our victory … is only delayed.”

  Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said he would offer his resignation on today, but pledged to stay on as long as needed, including to ensure the smooth running of the upcoming Paris Olympics.

  France has both a president and a prime minister. President Emmanuel Macron’s term expires in the spring of 2027. 

POPCORN IN THE LOBBY: The entertainment giant Paramount has agreed to merge with the lesser-known Skydance in a blend of old Hollywood and the new in which David Ellison, 41, the son of Oracle founder Larry Ellison, will be the new kingpin.

   Paramount’s owns CBS, Nickelodeon, and the film studio behind the “Top Gun” and “Mission: Impossible” franchises. It’s a turning point for the once powerful Redstone family that controls Paramount. The company has been struggling against the streaming giant Netflix and tech companies like Amazon. Paramount has tried to replace its fading cable TV enterprise with streaming businesses like Paramount+, but they are still trailing behind and losing money.

THE WAR ROOM: A Russian missile has destroyed a crowded children’s hospital in Kyiv during a barrage that killed at least 20 people across Ukraine. The number of casualties at the hospital is yet to be counted. President Volodymyr Zelensky said people were still trapped under the rubble.   

CATEGORICAL: Hurricane Beryl hit the East Texas coast as a Category 1 storm tracking toward Houston. Heavy rain and flooding is expected. Hundreds of thousands of customers have already lost power.

THE SPIN RACK: The Boeing company has agreed to plead guilty to a felony and pay a fine of nearly half a billion dollars for fatal 737 Max crashes in 2018 and 2019. — The John Deere equipment company announced that it is laying off 600 employees at three factories in Iowa and Illinois to move some of its production to Mexico. — Second gentleman Doug Emhoff tested positive for Covid-19. Vice President Kamala Harris is negative. — Minnesota Vikings draft pick Khyree Jackson and two of his former high school teammates were killed Saturday when their Dodge Charger was hit and flattened in a head on collision. Investigators said the driver of a silver Infiniti “attempted to change lanes while driving at a high rate of speed when she struck the Dodge Charger” and then hit another vehicle. Jackson was a promising cornerback fresh out of the University of Oregon. — Ukrainian high jumper Yaroslava Mahuchikh broke the women’s high jump record in competition in Paris, clearing 2.10 meters. The previous record of 2.09 was set in 1987. Mahuchikh wears blue and yellow eyeliner, her country’s colors, when she competes.

BELOW THE FOLD: Kenza Layli, a hijab-wearing digital beauty from Morocco, has been crowned the world’s first-ever Miss Artificial Intelligence. “While I don’t feel emotions like humans do,” she said, “I’m genuinely excited about it.”

  And that’s not the most vacuous thing ever said by a beauty queen.

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